Ohtani shows spring for suckers

THE FIRST two weeks of the fantasy baseball season always a re f illed with excitement. Owners are glued to their league’s live scoring page, trade talk with your buddies is abundant and MLB is littered with unexpected hot starts that always get your blood pumping.

However, there are also lessons to be learned. Raise your hand if you let Shohei Ohtani’s poor spring performance keep you from drafting him this season. Don’t be embarrassed. A substantial chunk of those who work in the fantasy industry are guilty of it as well. We continuously preach against buying into spring training statistics, and yet an entire industry failed to heed its own advice by overreacting to Ohtani’s struggles during the month of March.

As the curtain raised on the 2018 season, Ohtani took center stage and showed the world he is indeed a star. He wasted no time, taking the first pitch he saw on Opening Day and smacking it into center field for his first major league hit. He spent all spring watching pitchers jam him with inside fastballs, and once they tried it again, he was ready.

On the mound, Ohtani was equally impressive. He gave up a three-run homer in the second inning, but fought back against his early jitters and produced his first quality start. Those runs were all he allowed, and he went on to complete six innings with six strikeouts. He was locked in after his one mistake and on his last strikeout, he actually was walking off the mound before the curveball he threw even dropped in behind the plate.

Ohtani has since hit two home runs and, as of Friday, was batting .429. His next pitching start comes Sunday at home, and fantasy owners should be pumped — not just for his performance, but for also being smart enough to not buy into those spring totals. Just like we’ve told you each and every season.